#I love ai art because it's just so interesting seeing what we can make from only algorithms and preexisting datasets

[kianamaiart]

🌟KIANAMAIART FAQ🌟

FAQ wahoooo!!

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Who are you?

I'm Kiana, I'm a queer, Japanese Jamaican woman, and a Director/Storyboard artist who works in animation. I'm currently at Disney Television Animation.

What are your pronouns?

I usually go by she/her but I don't really mind any pronouns~

Where did you go to school?

California College of the Arts (but I dropped out when I was hired at Disney)

How did you get hired at Disney?

My bosses found me on twitter. They liked my drawing style and asked if I wanted to take a storyboard test. I did, I passed, I got interviewed and moved to LA two weeks later to start storyboarding.

Your work seems familiar. What do I know you from?

I've been on the internet for a long time! It could be a number of things. As maimai97 on dA I had a comic about next gen Pokemon characters called Pokemon 25 Years Later. As kilala97 I had some popular next gen ponies and also had a Steven Universe gemsona named Larimar. I'm also @yamujiburo, known most for drawing Jessie x Delia (hanamusa) a lot. I also work professionally! I've worked as a storyboard artist and director on Disney Channel's Big City Greens, I was a storyboard artist on one of the Steven Universe anti-racism shorts and I was a storyboard artist on Pokemon: Path to the Peak. Most recently I've been on season 6 of Dropout's Game Changer!

What program and brush do you use to draw?

Default brush in Storyboard pro. Photoshop sometimes just for compositing or specific effects.

PPPIDWTBAMG QUESTIONS

What is this project?

This is a project that started off as a silly idea that has since grown into me creating a 10 minute pilot animatic.

What does "pilot animatic" entail?

It means that it's effectively a pilot/episode 1 of a (potential) larger series. It's fully voice acted but is not fully animated. It's an animatic, meaning it will be comprised of storyboards in video form.

When and where can I watch the pilot!?

Now and right here!

What would this series be rated?

Ideally like PG13/TV14! Or whatever they call it. Definitely more geared to a YA audience. Not completely kiddy but also not what most people would consider adult animation to be

What are you planning to do with the project now that the pilot has released?

Don't know yet! There has been a lot of studio interest and even offers, so I'm in the process of talking with them and seeing if I can find this show a home or if I want to try doing it on my own or if I want to even continue with it at all. I know you guys are curious, but even if I wanted to tell you I couldn't. Just trust that I will make announcements as they come~

You said Aika had teammates, will we see them?

Because of the studio interest and potential for more of this show, there's some stuff I'm still holding close to my chest. This is one of them.

Do the characters have parents??

Zira does! As for Aika and Eclipse, this is something I'm still developing and don't really know myself haha

What are the characters' sexualities?

Don't know right now. Headcanon away!

Is "Star Guardian: Guardian of the Stars" a reference to that vine?

Nope! It's more so a parody for just really long and redundant titles which I love. Similar to the title of this project, which is called "Pretty Pretty Please I Don't Want to be a Magical Girl"

[duskvsdawn]

What a tantalising creature

On one of your regular walks on the beach, you suddenly see a mysterious creature. His beautiful songs draw you closer, and when he comes face to face with you, he has decided you will be his mate.

≫A/N: So, uh... Twitter is flooded with fan art of Kaelix as a merman today. I had to write about it. I don't know much about how merman anatomy works, and I know it's also up to interpretation (I know a tiny bit), so I am using my imagination for a big part, bear with me lmao. I hope all of you enjoy this really experimental writing that was pushed out on a whim because holy moly, my mind went places. Tagging @celestiaras and @briskunt because I have a feeling that both of you will love this specific fic in particular (I hope so at least!!)

CW: female reader, Kaelix as a merman, and uh he wants to mate with you so it's smut, extremely scuffed sexy times cause I really need to think about how I am even going to approach this, Kaelix is a virgin, Kaelix eats reader out, then he fucks her dumb because he just has to make sure you are filled to the brim so uh kinda breeding kink

Art credits <3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

If you like my works, please like, comment and reblog! It is much appreciated ❤ And if you really enjoyed it, please follow me so you can be kept up to date on future uploads! Please do not re-upload, translate, or use for AI training.

You loved walking on the beach in the late evenings. Everything was so calm and quiet during that time of day, and you always took it as an opportunity to calm your mind and get your thoughts straight. All of a sudden, you hear a beautiful male voice singing a song. You look in the direction of the voice, and it's coming from the water. There you see a man with hair as white as snow, and eyes that shift from a beautiful ocean blue into a forest green. And the man also seems to have interesting ears. Could it be a mythical creature of some sort? You had heard some tales about mermen roaming in this area during this time of year, but you couldn't imagine that would actually be real.

You watch the man for some time as he is just relaxing in the water, still singing beautiful songs. His voice draws you closer and closer, occasionally taking a step forward, closer to the water. It seems the man hasn't noticed you yet, but it suddenly seems like he's on the move. He swims over to a large flat rock closer to shore and hoists himself onto it. A beautiful tail appears out of the water, shifting from blue to green just like his eyes. So, mermen really do exist, you suppose. You take a deep breath and walk even closer to the creature, hypnotised by his singing.

When your feet stand in the water, the man suddenly turns his head around and looks at you. "Oh, why hello there," the man says as a smirk appears on his face. Oh, you looked so beautiful to him, simply stunning. He could smell your scent now, and if he didn't know better, he'd say you're aroused. You were wearing a crop top and extremely short and tight shorts, following the curve of your hips and your ass. The creature licked his lips as he saw you walk into the water. He wasn't singing anymore, but his eyes were just as hypnotising as his voice. You had to get closer to him. You wanted to get to know him. You had to touch him.

You stood in front of the rock now, not really sure what to do next. "Feel free to join me, beautiful. The moon is absolutely stunning tonight, we could look at it together," the merman said in hopes of drawing you even closer. He didn't have to tell you twice. You climbed up on the rock and sat down next to the man. He wrapped his tail around your feet as an arm folded itself around your shoulders. You swallowed the lump in your throat to ask him the only question on your mind at that very moment.

"What's your name?" you asked with a shaky voice. The creature had put its face into your neck now, taking a good whiff of your scent, and it seemed his suspicions were true. The smell of arousal rolled off your body, and it was driving him mad. "Kaelix," the man replied as he left a searing kiss on your neck, "What's yours, beautiful?" the man continued. You told him your name. You weren't sure if it was a good idea, but you had an idea you weren't getting out of here alive anyway. Once you're drawn into a mercreature's trap, there is no escaping it. If Kaelix wanted to kill you, he could do it right here, right now. But he didn't.

Instead, he scooted even closer to you and gently took your face into his hands. "Oh... If only you knew what you do to me... You're irresistible," the merman whispered, his hot breath hitting your face. His face got even closer to yours until your lips were barely touching. You wrapped your arms around the creature and pulled him in for a hungry kiss. Kaelix hummed in approval as his tongue licked your bottom lip, asking you for entrance, which you happily granted him. His tongue was long and pointed at the tip, and it felt so smooth against your own. At this point, you were enthralled by the creature, and he was all you thought about. The merman gently pushed you onto your back and leaned over you, trapping your mouth in a hungry French kiss once more. After a little while, you broke the kiss, panting for air. With half-lidded eyes, you looked at Kaelix and gently touched his ears (if you could even consider them ears?). The creature let out another low hum and leaned into your touch, licking your hand afterwards.

"Fuck, you're so pretty. I need to have you to myself tonight. Will you let me?" the creature asked, surprisingly composed and polite about this whole thing that he was planning on doing with you. You knew what he meant by that, and he was so incredibly pretty that you couldn't deny him, even if you tried. As your breath hitched in your throat, you replied: "Yes... Yes please..." as you impatiently rubbed your legs together, looking for some sort of friction. The merman noticed what you were doing, even if you were doing it on autopilot, and it didn't even register in your own mind. The man scooted lower and spread your legs after he took off your shorts and your lacy thong.

The creature licked its lips, your smell of arousal so overwhelming to him now that it made him dizzy with need. Kaelix moved closer and licked a long stripe up your folds before he started eating you out like a man starved. His tongue occasionally entered your core, the length and the texture of it making you throw your head back, almost banging it against the hard rock beneath you. When he wasn't doing that, his mouth would be wrapped around your sensitive clit, sucking on it like his life depended on it. He wanted you to fall apart all over his face so bad, so he worked even harder to make it a reality. His tongue entered you once more as his finned hand rubbed your clit with alternating pressure and speeds. You could feel yourself getting closer, your moans turning into choked whines as the coil kept tightening. The creature moaned as he lapped up more and more of your essence like it was the most delicious meal the world had to offer. Those moans against your folds were what sent you over the edge. You moaned his name as you pulled his face even closer to your core and released all over his face. The merman kept licking and sucking to help you ride out your orgasm, and honestly, he could do this all day if you would let him. He wasn't wasting a single drop, even wiping the remaining release from his face to then lick his fingers clean.

You were panting like a dog, the afterglow washing over you. But the creature wasn't done yet, and you knew that. Kaelix moved up higher, so he was face to face with you to leave a needy kiss on your lips and then moved to your neck. He gently nibbled the skin there, and then proceeded to suck a hickey right above your collarbone. The merman started moving his scaly tail against your core. It felt strange, but the friction felt incredible. Then, you felt something different rub against you. The creature had let its member spring free from its sheath, and you curiously looked at it. It was big, both in length and in girth. It had all sorts of textures on it, and the tip was pointed, just like his tongue, and it was also curved like a gentle wave. It felt very smooth and slick, even with those textures. Kaelix let out a desperate whimper; he wanted to get inside of you so badly. You bit your lip and pulled him closer, leaving heated kisses on his neck.

"Can I put it in? Please, I need to be inside of you. I need you so bad," the creature said with a whiny moan as he hid his face in your own neck to kiss you there just as much. You nodded, and Kaelix pushed inside of you in one swift motion. A gasp of surprise left your mouth as you were stretched open so deliciously, and a sigh of relief left his as he immediately set a brutal pace. You held onto to him for dear life as his dick kept hitting the most delicious of spots, thanks to its curves and textures. You were going crazy with pleasure as it seemed he sped up even more, and you didn't even know it was possible. If it weren't for the rough surface beneath you, you'd surely be moved to a different spot due to his harsh thrusts. You were surprised at his impeccable upper body strength, he wasn't even phased by how his arms had to hold him up like this, he surely must have practised this before. But little did you know, that you were his very first mate, he was just so damn determined to fuck you until the both of you would pass out in afterglow.

He kept chanting your name over and over between whines and whimpers. He felt so sensitive, and on top of that, your seductive smell was overwhelming his senses, and it felt like absolute heaven to be inside of you. He started whimpering even harder as he hid his face in your neck once more. Seeing him enjoy himself so much only made you enjoy yourself that much more as well, and you could tell he was getting close. You wanted to get there with him, so your hand snaked between the two of you to softly pinch your sensitive clit. With your other arm still around him, you pulled him as close as possible.

"Fuckfuckfuck... I'm cumming, I'm cumming, fuck!" the creature moaned, close to a scream as its hips began to stutter against yours. You moaned just as loudly at this point, telling him you were close too. And all of a sudden, you could feel yourself getting filled up as Kaelix bit down hard on your neck. To him, this meant he had marked you as his mate forever, and no one else would ever be able to have you, even if humans thought differently about this most times. You came along with him, covering his scaly tail in your release. You were panting against his shoulder, and you expected him to pull out. But as if in a daze, he picked up the pace once more, determined to keep filling you up over and over until you were filled to the brim. After uh, could have been 12 rounds, but you lost count halfway through, to be honest, you couldn't even tell up from down anymore. You were so fucked out at this point that all you could do was moan his name like a pathetic whore. Kaelix was just as vocal as you at this point, moaning your name just as desperately as he pushed himself to his limit to fill you up one last time, that should do the trick.

His hips stuttered once more as he bit your neck again, in a different spot this time, and he filled you up with one final release. Feeling his seed fill you up sent you over the edge once more, screaming, but no sound left your throat anymore. The creature collapsed on top of you as you held him close, keeping you plugged up while he struggled to catch his breath.

"You're mine now. Only mine. No one else is allowed to have you now. You will bear my children. And I don't care if we have to do this over and over to make sure you will." Kaelix said as he let out a sigh of relief, the sexual tension leaving him for now. You had no idea if it was even possible for you to have his children, and what would happen to you from here on out, but you were curious to find out.

[purplecritter]

theories/thoughts/analysis about touchstarved 2025 demo

So uh, I did a long analysis post back when the first demo dropped. I won’t repeat things that I already wrote there but I have some more thoughts especially with the changes and additions they made + several of the scattered official tumblr posts that followed the demo release!

Also heads-up, I will edit this with the daily routine posts from the devs' account if they're relevant, since I already commented on Mhin’s, but apart from those I won’t touch this anymore afterwards 🙏

(Spoilers under the cut)

Kuras

His new red choice… Really amps up his association with fire, and it seems to be directly linked with how close we are to him: if you didn’t get the red choice you still feel it, but you’ll miss this line: “I realize it’s more than physical warmth. The sensation calms my nerves and quiets my mind—the closest thing I’ve ever felt to a comforting embrace”. One thing is interesting though: the red choice was unlocked during my Unnamed playthrough, but not during my others even if I picked the same choices. I tried again picking the opposite choices with my Unnamed and still got that red choice, so I’m pretty sure it depends on your origin, not your relationship with him. Since, as of now, Kuras hasn’t yet revealed his true nature to us (I suspect Eridia more or less knows, though), it would make sense that specifically the origin about detecting hidden supernatural presences would notice earlier than the others.

The dev answered a question on their tumblr about Kuras, “Kuras came through the Shroud because he loved humanity. He’s had human friends, colleagues, and lovers… all of whom he’s destined to outlive. Each person he’s loved—and lost—left an indelible stamp on him.” The stamp part caught my attention; since we feel his powers more whenever when get closed (physically, but moreso emotionally), I wonder if he can… channel? That affection into energy. Kind of how deities are fueled by their followers’ faith, perhaps an angelic being like Kuras is fueled by emotions?

A bit of relevant lore was posted on the dev team's tumblr: “Divine Teacher — The Senobium's folklorists note a curious pattern in humanity's oldest tales. Though the details vary, these stories share a common theme: an otherworldly teacher, bringing the divine gift of knowledge. Alchemy and literacy, art and war...supposedly this being shared all that they knew with the earliest civilizations. In some tales, the otherworldly teacher is a loving, benevolent figure. In others, they are a harbinger of chaos and ruin.” as well as the quote “Hope. A strange concept, after so long seeing myself as the agent of ruin.” Prometheus is the obvious parallel, due to his association with fire (though I would hope Kuras still has his liver intact), but there’s many versions of the Theft of Fire; in the Book of Enoch there’s fallen angels who shared knowledge with humans, too; and undoubtedly several more myths about inhuman figures sharing knowledge. Mhin says that “[Kuras]rarely does [take payment from patients]. That just means he’s paying down the debt elsewhere” which could be related to his distaste for dealing with the Senobium… I wouldn’t even be surprised if he had a hand in creating the Senobium (his robes are white too, and he does collaborate often, yet he isn’t afraid of retribution for messing a little with its members from what we can see of his ending scene), and he had all the time in the world to witness how the knowledge he gifted was used for worse things that he could’ve hoped for :(

Kuras, like Ais, keeps on his own for the most part, though they don’t dislike feeling close to people: Ais actually dislikes isolation but he’s probably too jaded to want to bother interacting, while Kuras actively craves closeness (it’s part of the reason he has a free clinic methinks) even if he knows it will hurt him when he loses it.

Leander

Leander’s group is now called The Adderstone. The symbology of an adder stone, aka witch stone, is definitely a bigger hint at Leander’s unique connection to magic, whereas previously the Bloodhounds evoked the feeling of a mercenary group with a penchant for investigations. In the new demo Adderstone is defined as “a semi-precious mineral that draws out poison”, which also makes me think of his constant disposition as a confident protector and his tendency to disregard the riskier aspects (ie, he wouldn’t care about getting poisoned himself). The Adderstone’s meaning is still vaguely reminiscent of my previous thoughts about the Bloodhounds: Hounds are a breed specifically intended to track something specific (or someone specific) by scent, and in the new metaphor that something/someone is the poison that Leander and his mercenaries are drawing out, hunting.

Adder stones are sometimes also symbolically tied to snakes, some sources saying they were created by turning dead snakes into the stone, others say that the ring-like formation was made by a hardened bubble of saliva when snakes joined together… All quite nicely tied to the recurring Ouroboros symbol in Leander’s outfit and merch!

“I’m no prior or curator. I’m not much for paperwork or pencil pushing. And honestly, I don’t even think those robes come in my size.” I am reminded of an old post by user @/toeridiaorbust about how Leander and the Bloodhounds Adderstones clothes are a direct color inversion of the Senobium’s robes.

“If you want nothing but guidelines, improper policies, and needless bureaucracy, you know where to go […] The Senobium won’t help you. They’re more likely to torture you than to lend you a hand.” Now this? Makes me wonder if his prominent scars are connected to his loathing towards the Senobium.

“But I’m not going to wait from word from on high […] These are our streets. We make our own luck here […] I founded the Adderstones to help people like you.” connects to the “as above, so below” tagline that was in his posters in the first demo and first hinted at him creating the Adderstone as an alternative to the Senobium.

The lore snippet about him on the dev’s tumblr doesn’t add anything that we don’t know from the new demo about Leander and the Adderstone, but there’s an interesting part at the end: “Locals speak praise for the charming leader whose seemingly benign reign extends even below the city streets into the shadowed depths of the Silent Crypts.” Considering all of his symbolism about the cycle of rebirth (I went into detail in my old analysis post), the fact that this references a crypt of all places doesn’t feel coincidental… We haven’t heard of the location yet from what I can remember, but I would bet that it’s connected to Leander’s hidden curse / source of power.

In an old post, the devs confirmed that “The magically talented son of an old Hightown family, Leander was expected to join the Senobium when he came of age. Instead, he packed up his bags twelve years ago to chase his own dreams” which matches with his own words in the demo: “I grew up idolizing the Senobium. I wanted nothing more than to join their ranks, to learn magic from the best, to make a real difference. I was young and blinded by the legends and the legacy. I was so damn naive. All it took was one trip here, to Lowtown, to show me the truth.”

“I won’t leave you, and you won’t leave me” + “How would you feel about being on a leash?” + “You can decide how to thank me. Or I can decide for you.” he’s not beating the yandere allegations.

“It’s not every day I find something that truly challenges me” we already knew he likes being challenged, which is pretty much his whole relationship with Ais. It’s interesting because with MC, he tends to prefer when they defer to him, trust him, take the flower and hold hands…. I think both things are a way to reaffirm his confidence: a challenge surpassed is proof that he’s strong enough to face what he has ahead, and having people trust him (in Kuras’ words, even willing to put their lives on the line for him) is a different way to feel that kind of influence.

The new scene of him coming into MC’s room with the excuse of having information about the curse, it feels like a contrast with the other characters’ ending scenes. Everyone shows a little about themselves, their attitude or their habits, but Leander feels like he mirrors MC. Even asking him about his relationship with the others, he comments on what we say about them rather than speaking up about them unprompted.

I initially didn’t think much of it so it may be nothing but it’s worth mentioning anyways: while chatting with Leander nearer the ending, he can say “How would you feel about being on a leash?” which is easy to dismiss as just him being a little freaky, but then I recalled after the first encounter with Vere, when the MC remarks that they could share his fate and get “leashed” by the Senobium. I doubt Leander would intentionally let MC in the hands of the Senobium, considering his animosity towards them, but it’s still a chilling thought that feels like foreshadowing...

Vere

re: his bad/secret ending, I appreciate that he shows some restraint this time around. I’m now pretty certain that you can only get the option to “Reach out to him” (red choice) versus “Resist him” (neutral) if you played along with him at least a little bit; while “Surrender” (bad ending) is only unlocked if you don’t have his approval and you say that if you can’t find a cure it’s over for you (rather than “I’ll keep looking”).

In two posts on tumblr (here and here), the devs posted a couple of peeks at Vere’s living space. “Candles flicker in the waning light, illuminating a crowded desk at odds with its gloomy surroundings.” and “Few in living memory know why the Senobium built the secret prison where Vere is kept. What do you think happened to the other prisoners?”. Given it’s described as a secret prison, I’m torn about it being located in the entertainment district where we first found him. One one hand, he was shackled there and it was morning, the Senobium cleric hadn’t yet come to fetch him. On the other hand, it feels like a weirdly dangerous place to put the deathly charming Monster in? No other buildings can be seen from the window, which is either just to not clutter the view or it’s a tall building, a spire taller than the rest, which would only leave the blue sky visible from that angle. The three items that mainly occupy his space are candles (I would’ve thought he would be able to see in the dark, perhaps just not comfortably or perhaps he likes the atmosphere they create... or they're not there for his benefit, but that of his captors), books (I could swear there’s a full picture of his sketchbook somewhere but just considering this sneak peek of it here, I think it’s the one in the middle of the desk… As for the books, he doesn’t like puzzles, I’m not sure he would be the studious type, so my bet is on them being entertainment), and shackles in his bedroom and by the desk. This last detail feels particularly invasive, as the implications are that someone is scheduled to keep an eye on his routine, dictating when he is allowed bedtime and when he can read/draw/brush his tail (there’s a little brush and mirror in the shelves). There’s also some handwritten papers on his desk, I wonder if he’s allowed to send letters or if he just writes them? One additional detail caught my attention: doesn’t the decoration in the chair by his desk look remarkably similar to the design of Kuras’ earrings? Though there’s different additional elements for each, they both are a circle with three drops underneath it… Which makes me even more convinced that Kuras played a significant part in initially capturing Vere. The comment about “What do you think happened to the other prisoners?” brings to mind Vere’s insistence that if the Senobium realized what the MC is, they’d be leashed as well. I don’t doubt that other Monsters have been kept by them in a similar manner, perhaps some of them also were offered a way to end their suffering by Vere, like he did with MC in his secret/bad ending.

In a tumblr post by the dev team about his lore: “Bloodstained Snow — The Senobium's archives hold countless records of stories that defy belief. One ancient report recounts the haunting of a remote village by what is described at first as a god, and then as a demon. Heavily redacted, the papers depict a team of researchers hunted by a self-proclaimed deity that transforms into a malignant entity. After the beast succumbs to freezing conditions, its ultimate fate is unknown-doubtlessly lost with the pages removed from the report.” I would bet that this is (part of) the reason why Vere dislikes snow… Apart from that, it’s interesting that Vere presented as a god first. History is written by the victors, and I wouldn’t take this recounting as the full truth. If he approached the village like he did with us, at first charming (if a bit unnerving, but deities can afford that) and then started preying on people’s trauma/insecurities, it’s not much of a stretch that they’d label him a demon—and to be fair, his monstrous form doesn’t inspire much safety either. I wonder if he first caught Kuras’ attention (or wrath) by proclaiming himself a god?

I’m also still thinking of Vere being a foil for Mhin: both hunt Soulless, he does out of obligation and they do presumably as a choice in line with their ideals; one leans completely on his Monster side and lets it leak through nonchalantly, the other despises Monsters and hides their own unnatural skills; Vere puts on airs to hide his thoughts, overwhelming you with (effective or not) charm, while Mhin is standoffish and avoids opening up by… well, avoiding you.

Ais

The Exile notices “Not many scars, though. Strange. Save for one cut along his brow, Ais is unmarked for how seasoned he acts.” In a post on tumblr the team answered a question about this particular scar: “Ais’s scar serves as a memento of his first day in the human realm, a stark reminder of all that can be lost. His gang imparted a lesson he’ll never forget, and he returned the favor in kind.” What feels more likely to me, is that he passed through the Shroud with his gang, they had a serious disagreement and/or they betrayed him (we already know from the character sheets and other hints that he doesn’t like being alone, I feel like it’d take something serious for him to turn his back on them), fought and he got injured during this confrontation. Then he found (?) Ocudeus, and we can assume from the fact that the red-eyed woman who lead us to the Seaspring still had visible marks of her previous health, that the Seaspring doesn’t restore wounds, so the wound was already there and didn’t get healed. I don’t think it’s likely that Ais has regenerative powers (also, his knuckles are bruised constantly, and he bleeds when MC bites him).

Leander also says that Ais “doesn’t see humans as equals”. Humans, by their very nature, can’t realistically be a match for the power of a Monster, so Ais wouldn’t consider them on the same level as him. In the same line of thinking, he seems to like more when MC can hold their own, and I feel like it’s connected to his trauma about being betrayed: if people can take care of themselves (like Vere, who’s as dangerous as Ais, and Leander, whom he respects), if he gets betrayed by those he likes, then at least he won’t have to hold back and it will be a fair fight.

When Ais says his old gang “took a walk”, the Exile wonders about this “He knows how to scare people, and he expects submission, but it’s uncommon for someone so used to being in power to be so… alone.” The Exile also has the most positive reaction by far to the Soulless in the Seaspring. When talking with Mhin, the Exile says “[Ais’] Soulless seem to like him though […] There’s a big difference between Ais’ Soulless and that many-eyed Soulless [that attacked me].” Being playful (perhaps even being in groups) isn’t a behavior they usually display, and I wonder how much of that is because they share being under the influence of Ocudeus so they're not hostile to what they consider allies, and how much it could be Ais’ doing instead: if he feels so alone, I would bet that he would (subconsciously or not) use the bond with the Groupmind as a way to feel less isolated, and those feelings impact the behaviour of the Soulless.

Ais talks about “a time where Leander’s resolve will be tested, same for anyone in this plane or the next” I think that the Adderstones remind him of what he had, or could have had. He sees something of himself in Leander, but Ais is jaded by his previous experience. I now wonder if the assassination attempts are his way to test him, make sure he’s ready for whatever comes, something that he feels like he lacked when he was left alone?

The lore post about Ais on the official tumblr reads: “Death Knell — Whispers echo about a fearsome Monster within the Shroud, their overwhelming power and authority stretching across the realm’s underworld. Few have seen the face of this infamous ruler. As Monsters continued to abandon the Shroud to seek thrills in the human realm, the being stayed behind, devouring forsaken domains and Monsters alike until no challenges were left. Now, as the being seeks conquest elsewhere, Monsters stir in anticipation of impending carnage.” This also could reference the time where [everyone’s] resolve will be tested; I wonder if it’s a general comment, about Monsters as a whole (Ais himself likes a good challenge), or if Ocudeus specifically is working towards something. In England, there was a tradition to ring the so called passing bell from the church when someone’s death was imminent; then the death knell when they passed away (there’d be additional rings to signify gender, and age, so that people could get an idea of who it was); and finally the corpse bell when the funeral was being held. If we want to read too much into the cool moniker, perhaps Ais is not meant to be the harbinger of chaos, but merely a warning sign.

The Unnamed will comment about hearing a faint heartbeat pulsing underground, when they first approach the land near the Seaspring. Earlier they also comment about feeling a kind of thrumming in Eridia itself, I wonder how far Ocuseus’ influence expands? Is it limited to where its Groupmind members are?

Leander says that he’s known Ais for around six years, which considering Kuras says that Ais is a recent arrival, could be that he’s passed through the Shroud into Eridia for less than a decade even?

Mhin

They’re EVEN MORE of a nerd in this version. Clearly knowledgeable about Soulless’ biology, even though they deny having studied anatomy or medicine. In an older post on the devs' tumblr, “Mhin was forced to apply their anatomical knowledge to violence in order to survive. After years of bitter experience, they learned to fight with agility, elegance, and surgical precision. Even in Eridia, their skills see more use in combat than healing.” which again makes me think they maybe didn’t formally study them, but being an apprentice to someone isn’t out of the equation (perhaps even Kuras, the Divine Teacher?). Them saying to an Alchemist’s red choice “It’s been a while since I had someone answer [my theories]” hints that they weren’t always alone in leading a life like this, before. Like Leander says about them, “Vulnerability doesn’t get you much except heartache.”

“Something about them is strange, unlike any human or Monster I’ve ever met. I can’t quite place my hand on why, and that’s a first” is what an Unnamed says when first encountering them. Not human, not Monster, but a mix of both—Not enough Monster yet too far gone from Human. A post on the devs’ tumblr depicts Mhin (partially?) transformed: they’re still clearly recognizable, it could be they’re just mid transformation but considering the comment from the Unnamed, I don’t think Mhin can become fully a Monster (like, say, Vere’s shadow fox is also kinda incorporeal but more shaped): it is said that Monster gain more control over their human form as time progresses, so Mhin has probably only recently become like this. The description of “a tar-like substance leaking from their eyes and bony extrusions” matches their pin designs as well as their “costume” in the official 2024 Halloween art, and the tar/blood leaking from their eye matches the pastry on the official 2025 Valentine’s Day art (bottom right corner).

Ais calls them “dove” and considering their Monster form seems to be quite the opposite, black ichory feathers and all, makes me believe that Ais has seen them shifted sometime and is poking fun at it. Or I’m just reading into it too much and it’s about them having white hair and Ais defaulting to bird nicknames for some reason.

The Exile comments “It’s one thing to strike down Soulless. They’re creatures of instinct, aggressive and dangerous to everyone. But Monsters are lucid, thinking beings—beings that Mhin seems to loathe.” It feels like their hatred is brought on by how familiar they are: they know the thoughts that compel a Monster (hence their insistence that MC seeks help from someone less dangerous than them) and they hate that they’re their own thoughts.

In a recent post detailing their daily schedule, it seems to me that Mhin doesn’t sleep, or barely does. I’m more inclined to say that it’s a consequence of their nature, that they haven’t accepted (so they still want to sleep, even if they can’t or don’t need it), similar to how Kuras doesn’t really eat.

Since they both compete in the same field, I wonder if Mhin and Vere first met while hunting Soulless? Do they ever meet while on the same contract, or do they run in different circles?

I don’t think they mentioned this in the first demo, but Mhin says they grew up in Eridia. Which really surprised me, because in the pre-release content they’re referred as “outsider” and “outcast”… Unless that’s changed in the rewrite, maybe they were cast off when they were young, or maybe they weren’t physically exiled but rather their family/group of origin estranged them? “Eridia wasn’t perfect, but it used to be a place worth living in” also could be said in a more subjective sense, Mhin didn’t lead a perfect life but they were satisfied with it before. Moreover, Leander says about them “I’ve known them since they arrived here.” Perhaps they grew up in Eridia, left at some point, and came back later? And when asking Kuras about Mhin, he says “Like you, they’re a recent arrival.” though that could just be that Kuras has a different concept of time, considering he’s centuries old. In any case, I highly doubt it’s just an oversight from the team because so far every detail is very curated. There’s something here about Mhin’s timeline that I can’t quite put my hands on yet.

Now the juiciest bit of info about them yet in my opinion, is on their tumblr lore drop from the studio: “Lost Expeditions — In a bygone era, before Eridia became the last beacon of humanity, there was Lovent. Yet where a bustling metropolis once stood, there is now only a blasted crater and empty ruins, blanketed by fog. The inhabitants, and large chunks of the city, had vanished into thin air. Over the following years, scholars flocked to the ruins in search of answers. Like the Loventians, they disappeared without a trace, and none ever returned.” Lovent is also referenced in another post, as “The previous largest city, Lovent, was the epicenter of the first Fogfall. In the century since, Soulless and Monster incursions destroyed most cities, leaving Eridia as the largest remaining one.” It makes me wonder, if Mhin maybe did grow up in Eridia, went to Lovent either in time to be caught in its destruction, or afterwards to investigate it. It’s possible that this is how they became a Monster… In the description of their flower, there’s also a reference to “barren wastelands to ruins perpetually shrouded in Fogfall” which is way too similar to “empty ruins, blanketed by fog” to be a coincidence. It’s possible that they physically entered the Fogfall/Shroud, and what emerged wasn’t fully them anymore.

Thanks if you read so far, as always I’m always happy to read other thoughts about it all or if I missed something 👀

[lookingfts]

I'm sorry to see that AO3 writers are struggling because of AI scraping. It's so frustrating. AI is destroying my industry and will probably eliminate my job within the next few years, if not sooner. Maybe one day I'll do a longer post about that, but for now: yeah. AI (specifically generative AI) is fucking terrible for so many reasons.

And if it makes you feel like you don't want to create because things will just be stolen, I get that. You have to do what's best for your peace of mind. But if it helps - I'm so happy to see that so many people hate having AI shoved down their throats. Being pushed to use it at my job (essentially training my replacement) is disheartening, but there are still so many people that want real art done by real people. That appreciate the love and sweat and tears and don't just think of art as a consumable product.

I've pretty much accepted that my career as I know it is over, and I'm on borrowed time. But that's all the more reason for me to write for my own enjoyment. Maybe there's no market for me as a professional copywriter anymore because AI can write a brochure or whatever, but I write fics because I love writing. No one can take that away from me. Even if they steal my work, they can't take away the fulfillment I experienced from writing it, or the way it touched the people who read it.

So all of this is to say, if you feel depressed by AI, I 100% get it. But real art, made by humans, still has a place. And giving up creativity because we think there's no point only leaves our own personal lives emptier and less interesting. I don't know if we can fight the machine, I really don't. But it sure as fuck doesn't make what you do worthless. I don't think human creativity can ever be extinguished, because as long as we have feelings, we'll make art to express them. Whether it's on AO3 or somewhere else, please don't give up. What you create still matters to me and to a lot of other people like me.

[lunarriviera]

yet another shen yi meta [uts2 spoilers]

hi hey hello everyone i continue to be tormented with obsessive thinkings about s2 Shen Yi so i must holler about them/him some more, feel free to stop reading if you have not watched through approximately episode 11 which is where i still am. it's taking me longer to watch because i keep pausing to rewind/screenshot and/or weep in anguish about Him and What He Is Going Through. and how NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION. or insufficient attention. cf. Ryan Gosling in the Papyrus sketch screaming WELL IT WASN'T!! ENOUGH!!

[more. much more. behind the cut]

let's start here, with shen yi's artwork. in this scene he competed with AI to paint a chosen image and, surprising exactly no one, he won, partly because he's brilliant but tbh mostly because AI art is garbage and always adds dolphins, rainbows, and hands with six fingers.

but here's the thing: is no one going to question this? does anyone think to themselves "ah yes, shen yi is absolutely the BEST person in the world to make a painting in 30 minutes that depicts, quote, a lonely man on a beach." so here is this miserably hunched, despairing figure, surrounded by murky howling early-picasso blue, LOOKING IN FACT QUITE A LOT LIKE SHEN YI HIMSELF—even dressed like him (in the snowy white and dainty pastels he seems to favor this season)—and not a single person thinks: huh, wonder if this guy's okay?

in fact s2 seems to be repeated evidence of the fact that shen yi is Very Much Not Okay, and yet no one is really paying attention. he supports everyone else emotionally and they all seem to assume he either a) has no emotional blowback to deal with, or b) can deal with it himself unaided somehow. (through painting, maybe? but have you seen what he's painting lately? e.g. monstrous abusive parent figures, in some kind of breathless fugue state during which he can psychically hear lines from someone else's traumatic childhood?) he goes to li han's house to help her, which is so like him, and he says:

oh! you might think. well, maybe he will self-disclose a little? tell li han about some of his own personal difficulties that he's had to overcome, just to bond with her, get her to open up? HAHAHA ARE YOU NEW HERE, of course he doesn't, he just listens to her while she sobs out her tragic backstory, gives her a tissue, relates her struggles to a vaguely terrifying metaphor of his own device about a sealed room filling up ineluctably with floodwater, then smiles and takes her out for pizza. (totally unrelated but wow the product placement is heavy-handed this season. xiaomi! pizza hut!)

since we're talking about the li han case, consider this moment, too, when he interprets someone's house-person-tree drawing. does no one ever think, "for someone who talks constantly about love and connection, how interesting that shen yi has no family, refuses to date in very pointed and deliberate way, and lives alone with a cat."

shen yi knows all about love! never shuts up about love! constantly dispensing bromides about what real love should be like! and wakes every day ALONE from horrific guilty nightmares ft. creepy small girl in blood-red dress, pls will no one help this man pls he's drowning.

couple more bits and then i swear to god i'll shut up i'm starting to feel really stupid. but first consider this little story, in three parts:

"an image of despair" um okay well…technically it's just a dead body, albeit after a fairly grisly stabbing, but sure go off i guess

2. du cheng: wow even for you that was unusually poetic and weird

3. also du cheng: back to investigating the murder i guess [wanders away]

this kind of thing happens again. and again. either no one notices assorted horrified/devastated expressions on shen yi's face (in the way of classic extradiegetic reaction shots, where the camera sees them—we see them—but none of the characters onscreen do) or, when du cheng does notice, he's immediately distracted by his actual job, and/or the fact that he doesn't really know how to help his partner, because lbr he has all the emotional intelligence of a pony.

one more mini-story in three parts, and then i really will put a sock in it:

shen yi: why, what did i do. why are you looking at me like that

2. du cheng: bc you just lied your whole entire face off with alarming unsettling proficiency, since when are you that good at being dishonest

3. shen yi: hehe

in an earlier episode we also saw shen yi shouting at a suspect in the interrogation room, so convincingly that afterwards du cheng admits, you scared me. lol! says shen yi in carefree manner, i learned that from you! haha! agrees everyone, and they go about their business.

but ghastly things keep happening to and near him. at least once per episode, shen yi makes a face like this, because people are jumping off cliffs in front of him or abruptly smashing things with hammers or just lashing out with all kinds of antisocial behaviors in his vicinity:

to be fair, he has other expressions. for instance he also repeatedly employs his patented creepy ruthless smile, of the "i am going to fuck you up" variety, an expression reserved especially for criminals:

as well, i'm also leaving out all the ridiculously adorable/domestic scenes with him and du cheng, in which they share candy, roast each other about assorted nonsense, briefly co-parent a child, and, you know. are just generally disgustingly married. but that's a different meta.

also, admittedly du cheng does SAY things. he says, "are you still having trouble sleeping," he says "do i not care about you?" and "don't push yourself so hard" and "if you run into troubles, don't try to take them on alone." (i am sparing you all these screenshots since this is a meta about shen yi but trust me i have carefully accumulated every single shred of evidence in which du cheng is protective.) but, as frequently as du cheng expresses concern, he also just keeps clapping shen yi on the shoulder in a brotastic way and then strolling out. which i fear is just not going to be adequate. ("i don’t think this is literally papyrus. maybe that was the starting point but they clearly modified it?" "well whatever they did, IT WASN'T!! ENOUGH!!")

i leave you with two final images of shen yi, seen here continuing to be very much Not Okay, and to quote the bernie meme, i am ONCE AGAIN ASKING YOU, drama, is anyone going to care enough about this man to stop him going over the edge of the cliff with Evil Art Critic Eugenicist Moriarty Weasel Man? because he will, he will do it. because he's lonely and he's misunderstood and he's—

[cane comes out and drags me offstage]

[lastoneout]

I was too high last night to formulate this into proper words but something plagiarists(and by extension AI techbros) don't get about people who make things out of a love for that thing is that they are, consciously or not, doing it because they enjoy the process itself. Yes, it is easier to have a machine make a mug or painting or essay for you, or to steal someone else's, but again, people who actually like making stuff don't want someone else to do it for us because you have fully removed the thing we enjoy: the process of making a thing.

Like sure it would be nice to have a finished Gundam model or a trainset, but people who build gunpla kits and trainsets don't WANT someone else to do it for them, they want to do it. The sculptor or painter doesn't want a machine to just give them finished works of art, they want to MAKE that art themselves. The home gardner can just buy fresh food at the store, the tailor or knitter can buy a finished shirt or sweater whenever they want, but they don't because the act of gardening and sewing and knitting itself is what they enjoy.

Plagarists and AI techbros don't get that because they do not enjoy these processes. They enjoy making money and having social clout, and so they are perfectly happy stealing and automating things so that they don't have to do an ounce of real work while still getting all of the benefits of having created something. It really is all about finding the fastest and easiest way to get someone to hand you money or elect you god-king of the internet.

And the reason these two groups have such a hard time understanding each other is because of that fundamental disconnect. People who create things can never understand someone just wanting to press a button or copy-paste their way to having art because we want to indulge in the joy of creation itself, and those plagarists and AI dudes can't understand artists because to them it's just a means to an end so ofc it's in their best interest to make it as easy as possible. They don't get why someone would do this, or anything, if not for the social capital and/or actual capital it brings. Ofc it's better to automate it or steal it from someone else, that means you can make money faster and spend your time enjoying actual meaningful things like being wealthy and looked up to or w/e.

Plus creators(for lack of a better word) know keenly what it's like to BE stolen from or at least know people it has happened to, and so we are generally anti-plagarism by default.

Anyway yeah thats why to anyone who creates the other group seems so soulless and empty. It's because they kinda are. Because they don't value art or artists or care about creating things, and they certainly don't have any ammount of respect for the people they're hurting, they just want money and for "lesser" people to bow down as they walk by, and they are perfectly fine stealing to get there. It's the same mentality you get from people who pressure you to monetize your hobbies, they only see skills as an opportunity to make money. And it's really fucking sad.

[yanderedrabbles]

my stance on AI and writing

Hey guys! This is a little interlude from my regular yandere posting, so feel free to skip this if you aren't interested.

I haven't really made a post on this, because I'm honestly pretty conflicted about a lot of things.

To begin with, I don't like AI. I don't like the environmental impact. I don't like the handling of data and copyright. I don't like the way people are losing their jobs because of it. I don't like that something that could potentially be so life-changing for so many of us is just... kind of awful for artists and writers.

But on the other hand, I also recognise that things are never quite so simple and one sided. AI can help so many people in so many ways. Advancements in technology should be celebrated. New jobs are being created all the time. A part of me is genuinely excited to see what's possible.

Publicly available AI has advanced so far so rapidly that I think a lot of us feel intimidated. Especially writers and artists. Do we still hold value when an AI can spit out a 10k word Gojo fic in less than a minute? If it can generate a baroque style piece in seconds?

Fan fiction especially exists in this sort of grey area. Unlike traditional authors, none of us are really in this for the money. We write because we enjoy it, because we find it fulfilling, because we want to get dicked down in all sorts of freaky ways.

So the pushback you see from your favourite yan authors isn't financially motivated. I won't speak for all of us, but I think a lot of it comes from the ethical issues around art, creativity and technology. Is it really art if it's generated by an algorithm?

I recognise that for most of us, fan fiction is entertainment. And hey, c.ai is plenty entertaining. AI can write decently well. I mean, it's been trained to. It has a surprising range in terms of style and voice.

And saying that c.ai is lazy isn't entirely true either. The folks creating the characters definitely put the work in. They have to create well rounded characters just as much as we do. I recognise that.

I also recognise that the nature of c.ai means that it doesn't occupy the exact same niche as written fics. It's a lot more interactive. A bit closer to old school role playing.

Having said that, I personally have no love for it.

I won't go on a tirade about it being soulless or artless because, let's be honest with each other, folk have been saying that about popular and pulp fiction for years. Nor am I so arrogant as to say my writing is so much better and that you should only read real authors. I'm not going to lambast you for using or not using it. You're a smart person. You can weigh up the ethical issues and decide for yourself where you stand.

But I don't want my ideas fed into a machine. I don't want it to take my stories and twist them all out of shape. I don't want my prose and style watered down to fit the generic c.ai writing style.

Am I being arrogant? Maybe. My ideas are hardly the most unique things in the world. My prose is hardly remarkable.

But it's still mine.

I don't want to hand it over and have it changed without my control.

I've had a few people ask me if I'll ever make character bots of my characters. And I'm flattered guys, really, I am. It's a huge compliment that you've enjoyed my characters so much that you want to directly interact with them.

But I don't see myself doing that anytime soon. I don't want to water my characters down just to fit into that mould.

Maybe I'll change my mind in the future. Maybe I'll do more research on the impact of AI and take a stronger stance. But for right now? I'd rather be shot than engage with it any more than I have to.

[littletoddlerboyy]

Welcome to the BOUNTYLANDS 💣🐎

Tags: Western • Lots of Lore! • Supernatural • Original Characters • Lgbtq+ Safespace • Semi-Mature Themes • Cyberwestern • 16+ • Art Focused

-----------------------------------

Set in the fictional video game world of Garden Comic's "Wanted Man"- this shabby little town is an oasis in a treacherous cyber-western New Mexico! In town, visit the saloon or the shops, explore the valley, talk to locals, engage in community events, witness the horrors, get yourself into a dual- the possibilities are endless!

Although the server is set in an existing world, we strongly believe in bringing in your own complex lore, species, ideas and funny little guys to add on to the story and make the world just a little bit fuller!

Note from a Mod: Even if the server is large in members, the active community is fairly small. If large highly active servers intimidate you- I recommend giving ours a try! There's no need to learn lore right away- we're all just here to have a good time! Features:

Sub-Fantasy: Set in a Video Game, so characters are totally allowed to be a little weird and silly as long as they aren't wildly outside the box! Right now infact, we have slime monsters, angels, robots, imps, aliens- etc!

Loose character limits: As long as you don't have over twelve characters running at one time, go ham and make new guys to cycle in and out!

Small Town Drama: Considering the town is so small, gossip travels quick! Every event is relevant in the grand scheme of things- so don't worry if you feel a a little lost adding new lore! It still affects other characters!

No Magic, But High Tech and Supernatural Abilities : Characters often have highly mechanical tech and body enhancements and/or supernatural abilities dependent on their species- but this usually doesn't mean magic- so if you're still looking for more down-to-earth stuff- its perfectly acceptable just to play human!

Community Proposed Events: We encourage big town-wide events, and love to see what individuals bring to the table! If you want to host an RP event, you can do so without any need for permission- and we'll even make server announcements for you to help advertise! If you'd like to host art events, just let us know and we'll be happy to help set those up!

(If interested in the original comic the world is based in vv) https://gardencomics.com/

Our server doesn't have a lot of rules or expectations- but we do have some that we stick to pretty solid!

Art: We absolutely love seeing art in our server Gallery- and seasonally host art competitions with nitro, giftcards and commisions as prizes! We however don't allow AI art in the gallery- because we aren't losers and the server is run by artists!

16+ Age Limit: We don't necessarily impose an age limit, but for server members safety and because of certain themes regarding death, violence, language, etc- we recommend only users sixteen or older join!

Tupperbot: Highly Recommended for using different characters and easy pinged replies for those who also use it!

➣ https://discord.gg/nVUwF9Ev

[koiiiji]

whole fandom is blasting about how windbreaker became absolute piece of shit with boring chapters and characters with no sense, where author giving juiciest assjob to Jay Jo, making him win every race, adding new characters just because they are hot and of course each of them should have ahhh such sad background so we would feel sorry for them and what Yong Seok decided to do? of course add another absolute unnecessary race, character and drama😍😍😍

aside from that, now i understand the problem of drawing style. because what the actual AI fuck is that? it looks exactly as if you asked chat gpt to draw slim shady aka eminen in anime style. like at first i didn’t even recognize wb art style and i genuinely thought it was another post of AI art in tt. for everyone who says that author improving his art style, no, now he is not. the peak of his art was in 3-4 seasons, where there was true emotions of characters and when they still make sense. maybe beginning of 5 season was also good. but now? it’s AI, i don’t even what to know where this rumors came from, because now i can see it.

and back to topic how “Jay Jo is mc, it’s obvious author make him win. it’s webtoon about bikes and race, it’s obvious there gonna be a lot of races”. i always used to think that Jay Jo is unholy boring mc, but now i understand that in previous seasons he had at least something, while now all his character is flashbacks with Mahyeon (another problem with endless flashbacks… do you guys have a lobotomy? because i don’t, im quite good with remembering what im reading). and speaking about how wb is about races… well, maybe it was, but not anymore. we already have at least 3 new villains, and still no words about who they are, where they came from, and how they fuck they connected to Mahyeon death. was it Sangho? was it that guy in glasses? why they fuck they cared so much about almost random biker, because as we can see now it’s worldwide organization. it’s been 10(?) years of windbreaker and we still don’t have any idea of Mahyeon death. but of course instead of speaking about truly interesting topics we will eat another “hot boys” ahhh chapters😍😍😍

i really used to love windbreaker, but it so sad to look at what it turning into… almost no hate to author, we all like money and our works, but with each day i believe more and more in words he said about 3-4 years ago, about how he tired of windbreaker and want to hurry up to end it. now it really seems like he tired of it, but keep pushing it.

idk, share your thoughts and ideas on it🥹🤔

[tangibletechnomancy]

The (Personal) Is (Political)

~7 hours, Dall-E 3 via Bing Image Creator, generated under the Code of Ethics of Are We Art Yet?

Or, Dear Microsoft and OpenAI: Your Filters Can't Stop Me From Saying Things: An interactive exercise in why all art is political and game of Spot The Symbols

A rare piece I consider Fully Finished simply as a jpeg, though I may do something physical with it regardless. "Director commentary" below, but I strongly encourage you to go over this and analyze it yourself before clicking through, then see how much your reading aligns with my intent.

Elements I told the model to add and a brief (...or at least inexhaustive) overview of why:

Anime style and character figures - Frequently associated with commercial "low" art and consumer culture, in East Asia and the English-speaking world alike, albeit in different ways - justly or otherwise. There is frequently an element of racism to the denigration of anime styles in the west; nearly any American artist who has taken formal illustration classes can tell you a story of being told that anime style will only hinder them, that no one will hire them if they see anime, or even being graded more harshly and scrutinized for potential anime-esque elements if they like anime or imply that they may like anime - including just by being Asian and young. On the other hand, it is true that there is a commercial strategy of "slap an anime girl on it and it will sell". The passion fans feel for these characters is genuine - and it is very, very exploitable. In fact, this commercialization puts anime styles in particular in a very contentious position when it comes to AI discussions!

Dark-skinned boy with platinum and pink [and blue] hair - Racism and colorism! They're a thing, no matter how much the worst people in the world want you to think they're long over and "critical race theory" is the work of evil anti-American terrorists! I chose his appearance because I knew that unless I was incredibly lucky, I would have to fight with this model for multiple hours to get satisfactory results on this point in particular - and indeed I did. It was an interesting experience - what didn't surprise me was how much work it took me to get a skin color darker than medium-dark tan; what did surprise me was that the hair color was very difficult to get right. In anime art, for dark skin to be matched with light hair and eyes is common enough to be...pretty problematic. Bing Image Creator/Dall-E, on the other hand, swings completely in the opposite direction and struggles with the concept of giving dark-skinned characters any hair color OTHER than black, demanding pretty specific phrasing to get it right even 70% of the time. (I might cynically call this yet another illustration against the pervasive copy-paste myth...) There is also much to say about the hair texture and facial features - while I was pleased to see that more results than I expected gave me textured hair and/or box braids without me asking for it, those were still very much in the minority, and I never saw any deviation from the typical anime facial structures meant to illustrate Asian and white characters. Not even once!

Pink and blue color palette - Our subject is transgender. Bias self-check time: did you make that association as quickly as you would with a light-skinned character, or even Sylveon?

Long hair, cute clothes, lots of accessories - Styling while transmasc is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation, doubly so if you're not white. In many locations, the medical establishment and mainstream attitude demands total conformity to the dominant culture's standard conventional masculinity, or else "revoking your man card" isn't just a joke meant to uphold the idea that men are "better" than women, but a very real threat. In many queer communities, especially online, transmascs are expected to always be cute femboys who love pink (while transfems are frequently degraded and seen as threats for being butch), and being Just Some Guy is viewed as inherently a sign of assimilationism at best and abusiveness at worst. It is an eternal tug-of-war where "cuteness" and ornamentation are both demanded and banned at the same time. Black and brown people are often hypermasculinized and denied the opportunity to even be "cute" in the first place, regardless of gender. Long hair and how gender is read into it is extremely culture-dependent; no matter what it means to you, if anything, the dominant culture wherever you are will read it as it likes.

Trophies and medals - For one, the trans sports Disk Horse has set feminism back by nearly 50 years; I'm barely a Real History-Remembering Adult and yet I clearly remember a time when the feminist claim about gender in sports was predominantly "hey, it's pretty fucked up that sports are segregated by sex rather than weight class or similar measures, especially when women's sports are usually paid much less and given weirdly oversexualized uniforms," but then a few loud living embodiments of turds in the punch bowl realized that might mean treating trans people fairly and now it's super common for self-proclaimed feminists - mostly white ones - to claim that the strongest woman will still never measure up to the weakest man and this is totally a feminist statement because they totally want to PROTECT women (with invasive medical screenings on girls as young as 12 to prove they're Really Women if they perform too well, of course). For two, Black and brown people are stereotyped as being innately more sporty, physically strong, and, again, Masculine(TM) than others, which frequently intersects with item 1...and if you think it only affects trans women, I am sorry my friend but it is so much worse and more extensive than you think.

Hearts - They mean many things. Love. Happiness. Cuteness. Social media engagement?

TikTok - A platform widely known and hated around these parts for its arcane and deeply regressive algorithm; I felt it deserved to be name/layout/logodropped for reasons that, if they're not clear already, should become so in the final paragraph.

Computers, cameras and cell phones - My initial specification was that one of the phones should be on Instagram and another on TikTok, which the model instead chose to interpret as putting a TikTok sticker on the laptop, but sure, okay. They're ubiquitous in the modern day, for better and for worse. For all the debate over whether phones and social media are Good For Us or Bad For Us, the fact of the matter is, they seem to be a net positive-to-neutral, whose impacts depend on the person - but they do still have major drawbacks. The internet is a platform for conspiracy theories and pseudoscience and dangerous hoaxes to spread farther than ever before. Social media culture leaves many people feeling like we're always being watched and every waking moment of our lives must be Perfect - and in some senses, we are always being watched these days. Digital privacy is eroding by the day, already being used to enforce all the most unjust laws on the books, which leads to-

Pigs - I wrote the prompt with the intention that it would just be a sticker on the laptop, but instead it chose to put them everywhere, and given that I wanted to make a somewhat stealthy statement about surveillance, especially of the marginalized...thanks for that, Dall-E! ;)

Alligators - A counter to the pigs; a short-lived antifascist symbol after...this.

Details I did not intend but love anyway:

The blue in the hair - I only prompted for platinum and pink in the hair, but the overall color palette description "bled" over here anyway, completing the trans flag, making it even more blatant, and thus even more effective as a bias self-check.

The Macbook - I only specified a laptop. Hilariously ironic, to me, that a service provided through Bing interpreted "laptop" as "Macbook" nearly every time. In my recent history, 22 out of 24 attempts show, specifically, a Macbook. Microsoft v. OpenAI divorce arc when? ;) But also, let us not forget Apple's role in the ever-worsening sanitization of the internet. A Macbook with a TikTok sticker (or, well, a Tiikok sticker - recognizable enough) - I can think of little more emblematic of one of the main things I was complaining about, and it was a happy accident. Or perhaps an unhappy one, considering what it may imply about Apple's grip on culture and communications.

Which brings me to my process:

Generated over ~7 hours with Dall-E 3 through Bing Image Creator - The most powerful free tool out there for txt2img these days, as well as a nightmare of filters and what may be the most disgustingly, cloyingly impersonal toxic positivity I've ever witnessed from a tool. It wants to be Art(TM), yet it wants to ban Politics(TM); two things which are very much incompatible - and so, I wanted to make A Controversial Statement using only the most unflaggable, innocuous elements imaginable, no matter how long it took.

All art is political. All life is political. All our "defaults" are cultural, and therefore political. Anything whatsoever can be a symbol.

If you want all art to be a substance-free "look at the pretty picture :)" - it doesn't matter how much you filter, buddy, you've got a big storm coming.

[sapphicscholar]

Inaugural Hacks Fandom Gift Exchange!

Hello, hello! This year, we are launching a winter gift exchange for Hacks! Styled like other major femslash gift exchanges, you will sign up with 2 prompts, which will be assigned to another participant, and you will in turn receive the prompts of another participant. These prompts will be shared individually in early November, and you will have until December 20th to create and post a fan work (fic, art, gif sets, manips/edits, fanvid) for one of those prompts!

I’ve posted an FAQ below, and you can sign up to participate at the following link: https://forms.gle/RG6uofVYvV9HvNyQ7

~~~

Event FAQ:

Can I sign up if I don’t write fic?

This event is for all kinds of fan creators! The form will give you an opportunity to check off what kinds of work you are interested in making (fic, art, gif sets, and/or vids). While we will be using a sorting mechanism, we’ll add tags to prompts to help ensure folks signing up to create vids or gif sets won’t be given someone whose prompts are nearly impossible to fill in that medium.

Can I sign up and drop out later?

Please don’t! For this kind of event, drop outs pose a big problem! Rather than having a simple theme day where anyone can post, a gift exchange means your prompts have been assigned to someone else (who will gift you a creative work), and you have gotten another participants’ prompts. Making sure that no one is left without a gift on reveal day means that someone will have to race around to fill your prompts at the last minute.

So should I just not participate if I don’t know if I’ll have the time?

One thing you can offer to do if you’re one of those people who loves the adrenaline rush of a looming deadline is to let me know that you *might* be interested in being a pinch hitter in case we do have drop outs or situations where life happens. This doesn’t obligate you, but it lets me know that I can reach out near the deadline to check in and see if you’re up for it!

Can I use AI to help create my gift work?

No. While other fan events may have different rules, for this event we ask that you not use AI at any stage in creation (idea generation, drafting fic, creating art, editing, etc.). These kinds of events are designed to foster community; we put time, energy, and real creative labor into making something to gift to another, and there is far more value in something with a couple tiny quirks or typos of handmade art than there is in the cold sterility of AI-generated outputs. Generative AI is, per the admissions of its own creators, possible only because of the non-consensual theft of vast troves of creative labor via large scale data scraping. These workers have been neither paid nor credited, but their labor is lining the pockets of corporate billionaires who continue to decimate the environment in an era of worsening climate catastrophe while exploiting invisibilized, barely paid workers in the Global South. Anyone found to be using AI will not have their work posted in the collection and will be barred from participation in future fan events.

[valevntine]

okay, this is going to be a long ass post about ai, and i'm not going to be kind about it. i think i always try to be, but as an artist there's nothing that pisses me off more.

i'm going to talk about this specifically from an artist's point of view because i'm not a writer, musician nor anything else. i'm also not going to dive into the environmental and ethical issues of it (that would need a whole another post), but here's a few interesting articles i liked, just in case you've been living under a rock: ai's environmental impact, celebrities' deepfakes, ethical issues regarding ai.

not too long ago i participated in a local art contest. there wasn't anything that explicitly stated if ai generated pieces could take part or not - if i knew for certain that they were allowed, i wouldn't have joined -, the prize was 300€. i think it goes without saying that a sum of money like that one could be helpful for anyone, let alone a beginner artist trying to get their name known. do you know who won? a “drawing” made out of ai - and an ugly one at that. after the organisers were met with the general dissatisfaction and protest from the public, the winner even had the courage to make fun of and belittle the work of all the other artists who entered the contest, affirming he was smart because he chose the "easy way out".

if you use ai, you're not an artist. you can't call yourself an artist. and if you are, you're shitting on the work of so many. you're being an insensitive, disrespectful prick. yes, you can have the idea. most of us probably have an actual great fucking idea for a masterpiece inside of us, but not having the skill for it and settling for ai to chase after the empty thrill of being able to say "hey, i made this!" doesn't make you a creative. you know what that makes you? a selfish piece of shit. you're so afraid of doing it badly that you'll settle for this instead. being an artist means having the skill to perpetually practice and create a piece of art, whether that's a painting, a drawing, a song, a sculpture, a piece of writing. you'll have the entitlement to create only when you'll take your time to hone and build a craft, to perfect your skill, to be vulnerable and create something and make the world see it even if you maybe don't even like it, if you're unsure about it. i promise that will be so much better and braver than clicking a few buttons, typing out a few words and ta-da! your image is created.

also, do we know how ai art is created? do we remember it steals from actual artists? generative ai takes our work, it learns from it, and it spits out its nonsense without us artists ever seeing anything in exchange for it - except for the damage it causes. us artists have years of experience on our backs. i have been drawing since i can remember, i have taken upon learning it seriously for 10 years now. i attended art school for four of those years, i spent an unimaginable amount of money on it (which is also a privilege many don't have), and every day i'm afraid for my future career. i'm devoting all my time on this because i can't see myself doing anything else.

if i catch any of you putting ai generated shit into the world - especially if you're part of a fandom, because that alone deserves a whole another discourse - you'll be on the receiving end of my whole, unadulterated rage. i will tear you down. i will shit on you and your work, because there is no excuse for it.

do it bad, do it messy, do it a thousand times over, but please, don't settle for ai because it's "easier". no art is ever bad or ugly, i promise, and you'll certainly be brave and deserving of praise even just for putting yourself out there.

to anyone who's not an artist: support us. please, i beg you, commission your artists, show us your love, share our work, make us feel validated because this is getting awfully tiring. our work is already subjected to enough criticism as it is - you have no idea how many fucking times i've heard my work being belittled, being told that what i'm doing is something easy - but with the rise of ai it has only gotten much worse.

in conclusion: your ai "art" is ugly. your dignity is little and repulsive.

[brooklyn-house]

hello riordanverse fandom. i, a tumblr elder, will now go over some tumblr etiquette. it's alright if you've not been doing some of this, or even all of this! i'm not writing this to be mean – i'm writing it so that we can all be better-informed, and better-accustomed to how this site works <3

(also this post isn't comprehensive, and if you've got anything to add on, be my guest)

general good practice:

reblogs over likes

if you like something, the general consensus is to reblog it on your blog! that's how you show the creator that you appreciate their effort, or agree with their point.

if you have something to add to the post, such as a talking point to somebody's analysis of a character or such, it's perfectly fine to add it in the reblog! starting conversations is good, especially with other fans! even something as little as taking your time to comment on someone's art or react/add on to their headcanons can go a long way!

remember – fandom is a collective effort, and it thrives on people talking to each other. about their favourite characters, aus, pairings, whatever. even a simple "oh, i've never thought of that, tell me about it!" can make someone's day. this isn't your "personal brand" or whatever you might be used to from other social media. this is your sandbox that you're playing in with your friends!

post your stuff!

this one may seem kind of evident, but it needs to be said. is there a character you like? a book you like? a ship you like? or perhaps an alternative universe: have some characters swapped roles? have they been transported to a totally different universe? or have they perhaps met your OC?

that's all great! tell me more!

honestly! write a post about it! even if it's not really coherent, and it only gets like two likes. you're not doing this for anybody else, you're (probably) doing this because you've read a book that you keep thinking about! and that's the beauty of it! write your character x self fanfic for yourself! post about that unpopular ship! make up a weird au that you think only you will like! coz if you never do, you might never find the people who share your interests.

on that same note, tell people if you like their stuff!!! for the love of god, tell people when you enjoy something they've made. it's quick, it's easy and it's free

no place for AI

look, fandom is about making things yourself. generative ai, in any way, just does not belong here. even if you use character.ai. (join a roleplaying group.) even if you "just" use chatgpt to run ideas by it. (find a friend to discuss it with you.) seriously. this is something you're doing for fun! a little exercise for your brain!

tag, tag, tag

tumblr is a website that thrives on tagging your posts correctly.

DO:

tag your posts with series and characters that are mentioned/drawn. what i usually go for is: ♡ for any post that's about the characters from one of rick's series: #rrverse, #riordanverse, #pjoverse. these are generally the same, and show the universe where the books are set :+1: ♡ if the post is about a specific book series (it often is), i tag it. for example, for my heroes of olympus posts, i tag accordingly: #hoo, #heroes of olympus, #pjo hoo, #pjo hoo toa, #pjo hoo toa tsats. ♡ if the post is about a specific character or pairing, i tag it with those. ♡ if the post features any common triggers (blood, death, gore, etc.), it's good practice to tag those too. usually, they're tagged with something like #cw death (cw stands for content warning).

tumblr has a system where you can block out tags you don't want to see. this can be found in the settings. i strongly advise you to use this feature to block out definitely stuff that might trigger you, but also things like ships you don't like seeing. trust me, it makes life a lot easier. and no, nobody will be mad at you for it. it's normal and healthy.

i personally recommend having a tag for your own posts, so that you have an easier time finding them on your blog if you ever need them. it varies, some popular ones are #[name].txt, #[name] speaks, #[name]'s rambles – i personally use the broccoli emoji as my own post tag. (it works, if you look up the tag on your blog. tag content shows up differently depending on if you're searching just a specific blog, or all of tumblr.)

fun fact: tumblr lets you follow certain tags, so that if there's new posts in them, they appear on your dash!

DON'T:

overtag. if you're making a post about something from, let's say, heroes of olympus, it's generally considered bad etiquette to tag it with things that are unrelated.

if i, for example, made a post of headcanons about the son of neptune trio, i would avoid tagging it with other characters that aren't mentioned (#piper mclean, #nico di angelo), or ships that feature only one of or none of the characters (#jercy, #percabeth, #solangelo).

a big no-no is to tag it with another series entirely: if your post is about characters from hoo, don't tag it with the kane chronicles or magnus chase. those fandoms are a lot smaller, and we like to see things actually relevant to the trilogies in our tags.

lastly, if you're making a post about how much you dislike a certain character/ship (which, in itself, isn't really recommended – if you don't like it, posting about it is only gonna make it worse), don't tag it with the character/ship tag. it only makes the experience worse for people who are going through those tags, and are looking for content of their blorbos.

don't like; don't interact

if you see a take you don't like, a ship you find "problematic" or anything else that you don't like seeing, the golden rule is to take a deep breath and not interact with it. scroll past. those memes really weren't lying when they said "learn to sit back and do nothing".

it might not seem intuitive in this internet age, but you don't have to have an opinion on everything. and if you do, you don't have to express it. you probably wouldn't like it either if someone hated on your blorbo under your post about them.

no room for discourse

tumblr is a place where we all, at the end of the day, come to play with our dolls, or talk about our interests. some of those interests (I AM TALKING MOSTLY ABOUT SHIPS) may not align with yours, or seem "bad" or outright "horrible" to you. however, it's good to remember that if someone likes a thing that you personally find "problematic" or "icky", it's just not your problem.

DON'T:

♡ make a call-out post about how they're a disgusting pervert. even if what they like is that thing. or that one. yep, even that one. most of tumblr's userbase are weird little freaks, in one way or another, so it's kinda pointless to try to turn on someone because they're a freak, you get me? ♡ send them hate. it's not gonna help anything. ♡ try to fight with them about their interests or preferences.

INSTEAD, TRY:

♡ if you don't quite understand why somebody likes something, you can try having a respectful conversation about it with them. but please, really do try to be respectful. they'll probably be happy to explain. even if you might come away from it finding that it's just Not Your Thing, you'll understand somebody else's perspective better, and that's always a good thing! ♡ if it really upsets you, you can go find a trusted friend, and vent to them about it. it's okay, it's normal to be upset. as long as you're understanding that your reaction is a valid response, but one that is unique to you (and the thing you see is probably making at least some other people happy or interested in it), and one that isn't to be expressed directly under that certain post.

turn on asks!

this isn't a general rule, but my personal recommendation. turn on asks, as well as anon asks, so that people can send you questions. about your headcanons, or your favourite characters, or just chats about how your day is going.

(though don't feel pressured to have asks open. it's good, but it's not, like, mandatory.)

don't censor yourself.

here on tumblr, we can say all the words like kill, death, sex, AND OTHERS! if you're speaking about these topics, please don't censor yourself! tumblr has a feature that allows you to filter out words in posts (that may be triggering, or that you just don't want to see). by censoring those words, you're actually more likely to cause harm to someone, by letting it pass undetected through their content-filtering.

TL;DR: BE NICE TO EACH OTHER AND INTERACT WITH PEOPLE

[leafofkudzu]

Hello and happy endless January! Despite how long this month may have seemed, it is almost over - and that means it's soon time for another art party hosted by my guild, Verdant Shield [VS]! We're taking a little tour of the cozy size of the jungle this time, over at Mabon Market in Caledon!

For those who aren’t familiar with art parties, they’re a concept carried over from Final Fantasy XIV - in-game get-togethers for artists/writers/creatives of all types to hang out, chat, and create together! Get your favorite character/look together, head to the location, find someone that catches your eye, and create! Afterwards, everyone posts their creations in a shared tag (ours is #VSArtParty) so others can see, interact, and share! Tl;dr: the ‘goal’ of an art party isn’t to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community!

Time and /squadjoin information is under the cut, but will also be posted again via reblogs as the squads go up on the day of the party!

Location Information:

Caledon Forest is a nice easily-accessible map for everyone, and Mabon Market even has its own dedicated waypoint (that is, Mabon Waypoint)! I imagine we'll kind of scatter out across the market and beach, so don't take my exact location in this screenshot too seriously!

Time & Squad Details:

As we always do, we'll be having two parties - one on EU servers and one on NA ones - with an hour break in between. People tend to arrive early and/or jump between accounts as soon as the break comes up, so don't be surprised to see tags and announcements going up ahead of schedule!

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Time (aka 3pm Eastern Standard Time or 4 hours before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting on my EU alt account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Aemryn of Dusk for an invite.

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Standard Time (aka 1am Central European Time or at in-game reset). I’ll be hosting this one on my main account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Kirslyn for an invite.

Closing Words:

A few days ago some nasty info came to the surface about various GW2 sources being scraped for AI purposes, with tumblr tags specifically being mentioned. Though I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for being discouraged and not wanting to draw at all (even this post was delayed because of it), I think at the end of the day, even if you don't post anything publicly, you still shouldn't deny yourself the company and community of your fellow creatives! If you'd like to make this art party have more of a focus on screenshots, or even just hang out and not draw at all, please feel free - your presence is what makes these parties...well, parties, after all!

If you are still interested in posting your artwork though, please check out Glaze and Nightshade as potential ways to protect yourself (and hurt AI datasets) if you haven't already! And even if you don't do that, make sure to slap signatures/watermarks/etc wherever you can. This may be a disheartening time for us, but it doesn't mean we have to stop doing what we love.

So, whether you're coming to create or just to hang out, I look forward to seeing you all this Saturday. Take care, stay safe, and see you soon! ♥

[santae-salt]

So I came from Flight Rising (I’m fishcloud #671151 let’s be friends!) and honestly I didn’t care much for Santae from the start - the set color mechanics, the fact that you did literally nothing interesting or interactive with your pets. I was an alpha tester though so I figured maybe I could do a big event and give it all away sometime (or trade for FR stuff). I pretty much didn’t interact with the site until this year but I was like okay, quest mechanics are kinda cute because it’s just a coin farm, minimal abilities and blitzing and whatnot is entertaining. But STILL I have to say; I have so much respect for people who put money into the site with the hopes of it becoming something amazing, but did it really have that much potential?

Because I like neuroscience and psychology. We like collecting things, and Santae has lots of collections. We like feeling like we’re making something, and the quest and venture systems do that. But we also like feeling unique, and from the start the lack of customization just screamed money farm to me.

Concept is really the most important part of a story. Star Wars was campy, sure, but the characters and design and thought that went into it made it enormous anyways. Minecraft is not beautiful or expertly crafted (in terms of asset design) but it’s so uniquely lovable. Concept art, therefore, is the thing that matters.

Colors-wise, though, is where the consumer is meant to come in. We say “I want this color!” and feel like we’ve accomplished something to see it that color. With randomized breeding systems or even just the mystery of the sex or color of our pet, we can get that satisfaction. But Santae is so infinitely controllable that I just don’t find pets fun. The only thing that could make a pet interesting is its name, and even that is hidden behind a $3(?) paywall. It definitely made me worry about how people could actually grow attached to the site, and if the systems would get more interesting.

Also, I pretty much haven’t been in the forums, which is a big sign for me of a site that isn’t fostering a community. Flight Rising, for example, is swimming in forums. I know people who rarely go on forums, yeah, but I know a whole lot more who love talking to each other over them. We have nothing, really, to talk about. “I have a Natural Phasmic that is green and purple” when all Natural Phasmics are green and purple (And we can’t say “hey I wish this item was cheaper” or it’ll get deleted??? But that’s another point).

They were a little odd from the start, but the updates were making sense at that point. Of course I noticed that some NPC’s looked a bit like an AI anime style, but that’s also just an art style, and so I figured I must be overthinking things.

Until artists started asking about payment.

I understand an artist being unable to finish a piece and returning any money being paid. I understand a buyer being unable to pay immediately, or even cancelling a commission (although that’s pretty annoying don’t do that if you can avoid it). I don’t understand taking finished art and saying “what, we were gonna pay you?” That’s unethical, that’s illegal, and that’s just really disrespectful. I think not paying your employees enough when you’re bragging about how much you raised on KS is solid reason to just leave the site alone.

But no, CJ had to dig them all deeper.

Jitterbug being insane? Okay, sometimes you hire the wrong person and it’s good to try to change that.

Questions about a no-AI policy? Implemented, awesome.

But that manchild just won’t quit and it’s funny to watch. I don’t know if y’all have gotten serious Elon (not the Eliyo pet) vibes from all these shenanigans but the tantrums, the banning people for criticizing you, the sudden bursts of good guy, the not-even-my-people-like-me, it just all screams Musk to me. I appreciate that I think he wants to build a fun petsite, but he’s done all the wrong things TWICE (what is love!) and honestly why not just step back for a bit lol??

thanks for coming to my ted talk sorry for the rant lol

☁️

[gatheredfates]

I know you are exhausted and really can just delete this if you feel like you want to just drop the subject.

But it's nice to see someone speak up about these sort of concerns regarding mods. While I haven't suffered myself from saying no to download other people's aesthetic mods I share in the feeling that there is just too much expectation on mods being used. I always feel sad watching new blogs on tumblr express a discouragment because they don't use mods themselves, then end up using them anyways, only to leave the community on tumblr all together shortly after.

I have friends who tried to aesthetically shape MY OCs with mods they think are cool (but doesn't suit their OCs so they ask if I want them) even when they know what my character look like, and the mod they share is so far off it is almost upsetting. I'm an artist, who love to express their true looks through art rather than mods, I don't need help finding mods.

Heck I remember the first time I encountered Mare, just idling in Quicksand and someone expressed interest for walk up RP, asked if I had Mare and I asked what it was, never to even hear from them again. After that a few other encounters where people weren't interested because I did not use it.

What I mean to say in the end is that, you are not alone in finding mods tiring. But I think as long as we welcome newcomers and support vanilla players rather than... send them guides on how to mod, we can take down those gatekeepings.

Hi anon, there's no issue on my end! While I'm definitely burnt out by the whole thing, I'm of a mind I wouldn't have posted my thoughts if I wasn't up for discussion/critique, provided it's in good faith. You'll have to forgive the fact my response may be clunky, though! I saw this right as I was heading to bed, so I'm typing it on my tablet LMAO.

A lot of what you're saying are the exact things I echo when I express my exhaustion. I really feel for new players. It's hard enough to try and find a legitimate rp scene with the rise of the nightclub scene (which is not me knocking it, I'd just prefer an in-game nightclubs to a plug for a twitch DJ), but then to go and feel alienated because you don't have x, y and z add-ons? I'd want to quit too.

I'm no artist, so I can only imagine how painful the rise of AI must be in devaluing your work, but that plus people trying to push mods must be exhausting no matter how well meaning they're trying to be. You shouldn't need to use mods, especially when you have medium that works for you to express your character in the way you want. Mods aren't going to do the work justice unless you make and/or commission them yourself, and there's already precident for people alienating on account of people having free mods--to say nothing of people who choose to be vanilla. Not to mention there's not a lot of black/poc mods anyway, so those who want those kinds of things are at a disadvantage from the start.

I do fully believe that mods should be opt in and we should be side-eyeing people who demand their utilisation as part of a collaborative space. It should be enough for someone like you to send art. It should be enough that I can send a screenshot, a written description or even a completed doll maker if I want and still be taken seriously and sincerely.